Thursday, December 27, 2007

300,000 New Orleanians

#2011, New Orleans , LA 9/2007

All reproduction rights reserved Wm. Greiner

The population of great New Orleans has hit the 300,000 mark - which is about 65% of pre-Katrina levels. At a rate of 3,000 - 4,000 who are moving back each month, New Orleans will be back by 2011!!!!!!

Friday, December 21, 2007

LOST IN TRANSLATION

Indian Figures, Pensacola FL 10/2007

All reproduction rights reserved Wm. Greiner

When considering the litany of follies by the Federal agency FEMA, can anyone be surprised by the agencies’ latest flash of brilliant bureaucracy in action? It was reported today that the trailer warnings , notifying evacuees of possible cancerous air conditions within the trailers , translated into Vietnamese for the large population along the Gulf Coast was so badly translated , that it prompted Vien, pastor of Queen Mary of Vietnam Church to say , “It’s gobbledygook”!

He called the notices “another black eye, a bloody nose” for members of the local Vietnamese community who have had trouble obtaining government assistance in the storm’s aftermath.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

HEARD A STORY...follow up

Modern House, New Orleans LA 2006

All reproduction rights reserved Wm. Greiner

I recently blogged , in HEARD A STORY, about New Orleans homeless but working people getting kicked out of a park - with no where to go! Today it was reported by the Associated Press, that the community service group UNITY was finding apartments and hotel rooms for over 200 of these folks! However, they reported that there were still 73 people living in or around the area known as Duncan Plaza.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

With Regrets, New Orleans Is Left Behind *

Blue Fence, New Orleans, LA 7/2007

All reproduction rights reserved Wm. Greiner

With Regrets, New Orleans Is Left Behind

LAKE CHARLES, La. — With resignation, anger or stoicism, thousands of former New Orleanians forced out by Hurricane Katrina are settling in across the Gulf Coast, breaking their ties with the damaged city for which they still yearn.

Monday, December 17, 2007

Something to smile about!

Musician Mural on Plywood, New Orleans LA 2006 from 8 Days in Spring

All reproduction rights reserved Wm. Greiner

In August , 2006 , I blogged about New Orleans/Times Picayune photographer John McCusker (Let Love Rule , August 10, 2006). John under serve strain from covering Huricane Katrina was facing felony charges after a traffic stop and altercation with police.

It was reported last week that the charges were reduced to a misdemeanor and after paying the fines , John was free!

Friday, December 14, 2007

When a house is not home.

Green Chairs and Plants, New Orleans LA 12/2007

All reproduction rights reserved Wm. Greiner

In New Orleans, Plan to Raze Low-Income Housing Draws Protest

NEW ORLEANS — At a moment when the shortage of low-income housing in the city is causing significant hardship, the federal government is beginning this week to tear down thousands of apartments in the city’s four biggest public housing projects.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

HEARD A STORY....

I heard a story on NPR the other day that made me want to cry! Without affordable housing in New Orleans, many people are being forced to sleep on the streets! One man interviewed, a working man, who sounded quite articulate and responsible had no place to sleep! The story:

All Things Considered, December 10, 2007 · Since Hurricane Katrina, the number of homeless people living in New Orleans has doubled. Many are people who had a place to live before the storm. But many of them were just barely getting by — and were dealing with physical and mental disabilities. Now, they cannot afford the price of housing.

On Tuesday, the state is planning to begin building a fence around a city park that has become an encampment for homeless people. They'll have until Dec. 21 to move out, and that may not be enough time for groups that help the homeless to find them permanent housing.

Friday, December 07, 2007

LUCKY No. 7...how do you know?

Ships on Horizon, Gulf of Mexico, 10/2007

All reproduction rights reserved Wm. Greiner

Gray forecasts seven hurricanes for 2008

The 2007 Atlantic hurricane season just ended Nov. 30, but already there’s a prediction for next year. Hurricane forecaster William Gray called Friday for seven Atlantic hurricanes, three of them major, during the 2008 season. Gray's team at Colorado State University issued the prediction six months before the June-November season begins. The preliminary forecast calls for a total of 13 named storms in the Atlantic. It also says it is probable that at least one major hurricane will hit the U.S. coastline.

Thursday, December 06, 2007

A Park worth saving

Foliage, Baton Rouge, LA 4/2007 from Baton Rouge Blues

All reproduction rights reserved Wm. Greiner

For thousands of people, the holiday season is a time for remembering the past and dreaming of the future. New Orleans City Park remembers the past, the past before Hurricane Katrina when the gardens were blooming, the forest was plentiful, kids played in Storyland and the Amusement Park, and families came out to picnic under the trees.

Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of the park, causing over $43 million in damages. We have made significant progress over the last two years, reopening the Botanical Garden, Storyland, the Amusement Park, tennis courts, and many other attractions.

But New Orleans City Park still needs your help. The golf courses have not been reopened, many athletic fields are in need of major repairs, the staff needs to be replenished, and facilities which host family attractions are still not up and functioning.

This season we are asking you to remember City Park in your holiday gift giving. Your gift will help sustain the park for generations to come. A brighter future for New Orleans City Park can be achieved with your generous gift that will give us the opportunity to restore the heart of New Orleans, the heart that keeps beating, bringing New Orleans City Park back better than ever.

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Picturing People - W. Sheldon Bivin

Sheldon at the Y before Tennis matches 11/2007 from Baton Rouge Blues

All reproduction rights reserved Wm. Greiner

I know W. Sheldon Bivin only as a tennis player. We play just about every Thursday morning at the YMCA courts. Only recently, through a magazine article about Sheldon, did I find out he was an esteemed head of Veterinary Medecine at LSU and care taker for much beloved Mike the Tigers III, IV and V.

Monday, December 03, 2007

Pretty in Pink

At the center of a buzzing construction zone in the heart of the worst-ravaged corner of the Lower 9th Ward, movie megastar Brad Pitt took a break Sunday afternoon to imagine the future.

Strewn around him a half-mile in every direction were hundreds of enormous pink blocks, 8-foot-high boxes and huge triangular wedges, representing the uprooted foundations and dislocated roofs that littered the area beside the Industrial Canal for months after Hurricane Katrina.

"Right now there are scattered blocks, like they were scattered by fate's hand, symbolic of the aftermath of the storm," Pitt said as crews installed more of the metal-and-tarp structures. "But we will be flipping the homes, essentially righting the wrong."